©2014 BiddingForGood, Inc. 1
Updated on 11/04/2014
Lot Number / A / Maximum length: 24 characters if alphanumeric string, or 2,000,000,000 (2 billion) if numerical value.
No two items may have the same Lot Number.
The importer uses the Lot Number as an identifier for your items:
- If a Lot number already exists in your catalog and your file includes that same number, it will update the item in your catalog.
- If you use a new Lot Number, it will create a new item.
The system will assign Lot Numbers starting at 101 and increasing by 1.
If items already exist, the system next issues one number above the highest Lot Number that currently exists. I.e., if your catalog contains a lot number of 556, the system next issues 557.
Quantity / B / For regular biddable items, Quantity must be 1 (which can be indicated by leaving the field blank).
For Buy Now Only items: Be sure to enter NO in the Online Bidding column (Column R) and a Buy Now Price (Column V), you can have a quantity 1 - 999. / NO / Blank field OK: the system assumes a quantity of '1'.
Item Name / C / Maximum length: 100 characters
No HTML allowed. / YES / ERROR
Item Description / D / Maximum length: unlimited
HTML allowable, translated upon import. / YES / ERROR
Special Note / E / Maximum length: unlimited
HTML allowable, translated upon import. / NO / Blank field OK
Private Note / F / Maximum length: unlimited
This field is hidden from the bidders and can only be viewed by auction administrators in the Items section in Auction Manager. / NO / Blank Field OK
Category / G / Category names must exactly match an existing category name in your auction. (Double-check for misspellings!).
This column is also case-sensitive, so it must match exactly what’s listed under Event > Auction Categories.
To create a new category in the import file: Include the Category name and an Item Type in the next column.
You can also create the Category in advance by going to Event > Auction Categories. Then you’ll only need to include the Category name in the Import file. / YES / ERROR
Item Type / H / Item Type names must match one of the Item Types. For a list of Item Types, see the Item Types & Attributes document in the Knowledge Base.
You can either enter in the exact Item Type or you can simply enter one of the words. For instance, ‘Recreational’ is valid input for Item Type ‘Sports & Recreational Activities’. / NO / You can leave this column blank if the Category already exists under Event > Auction Categories.
NOTE: If you are creating a category through the importer for the given item, then an Item Type is required.
Item Attributes / I / In order to publish your items, you must include one or more Item Type Attributes available to the Item Type you have entered. Separate multiple attributes with a double colon (e.g. “Attribute1::Attribute2”). For a list of Item Type Attributes corresponding to each Item Type, see the Item Types & Attributes document in the Knowledge Base. / NO / If your opted into the BiddingForGood Bidder Community and the field is left blank, the import will not error but the corresponding item will be saved to the ‘Draft’ bin. In order to Publish items, you’ll need to select Item Attributes for each item (either through the import or by editing each item individually).
Item Location / J / For domestic locations, either enter the city name, followed by a comma, followed by the state’s postal code (e.g. New York, NY), or enter the zip code (e.g. 90210).
For international locations, simply enter the name of the country (cities are not accepted, which means ‘Canada’ will be accepted but not ‘Montreal’). / NO / Blank field means that the item will be assigned to the organization’s existing location (determined by the Mailing Address).
Featured Item / K / Acceptable input: YES or NO
Note: ‘Featured Item’ is featured on homepages/emails/dynamic categories. YES will ‘move’ item to top of list for selection on homepages and emails and will include the item in your Featured Items dynamic category. / NO / Blank field OK and means ‘NO’.
Bidder Community / L / Acceptable input: YES or NO
This field controls whether or not the item will be accessible to the BiddingForGood Bidder Community. / NO / Blank field OK and value will be determined by whether or not your auction is opted into the BiddingForGood Bidder community (specified in the ‘Auction Info’ page).
If the auction is opted in, will default to ‘YES’. Otherwise, will default to ‘NO’.
Cost / M / Only input a ‘Cost’ if your org as paid for this item (Do not confuse Cost with Value). If no cost is associated with an item, Cost field should be left blank or set to '0'.
Use only whole dollar amounts, no cents: input can be in either '$xx.00' or 'xx' format ('$56.00' or '56'). / NO / Blank field OK and means '0' (“no cost”).
Estimated Value / N / Estimated value is your best estimate of the fair market value for the item. Even if you are not planning to display the Estimated Value to your bidders, doing your best to enter a realistic value helps to ensure we provide you quality reporting and guidance on the performance of your auction.
NOTE: Be sure that the Estimated Value entered is greater than or equal to $3 (When the Opening Bid field is left blank, the system defaults the Opening Bid to 1/3 of the Estimated Value – and $1 is the lowest allowable amount.)
Use only whole dollar amounts, no cents: input can be in either '$xx.00' or 'xx' format ('$56.00' or '56'). / YES / If not greater than or equal to $3, then ERROR
Value Display / O / Acceptable Input: SHOW, HIDE, or PRICELESS.
This field controls how an item’s Estimated Value is displayed to your bidders in your online catalog. / NO / Blank field OK and means 'SHOW'
Online Bidding / P / Acceptable input: YES or NO
Online Bidding is not permitted for items with a Quantity >1.
Options for selecting the type of bidding
To set up as item as Online and Mobile bidding: Enter YES in the Online Bidding field and NO in the Live Event field for the item.
To set up as item as Online to Bid Sheets: Enter YES in the Online Bidding field and YES in the Live Event field for the item.
To set up an item as Live Event Only: Enter NO in the Online Bidding field and YES in the Live Event field for the item / NO / Blank field OK and means YES
Opening Bid / Q / Use only whole dollar amounts, no cents: input can be in either '$xx.00' or 'xx' format ('$56.00' or '56'). / NO / Blank field OK and means default of 1/3 Estimated Value will be set as Opening Bid.
Reserve Price / R / Reserve price is an optional feature.
Note: A reserve is the minimum amount for which you are willing to sell the item. You should only set a Reserve if your Opening Bid is too low to cover this minimum amount.
Use only whole dollar amounts, no cents: input can be in either '$xx.00' or 'xx' format ('$56.00' or '56'). / NO / Blank field OK and means '0' (no Reserve).
Bid Increment / S / For Automated Bid Increments, leave blank.
When you use automated bid increments, the system automatically sets bid increments based on the current leading bid. View our automatic increments.
If you want to customize a specific bid increment instead, use only whole dollar amounts, no cents: input can be in either '$xx.00' or 'xx' format ('$56.00' or '56'). / NO / Blank field OK and means Automated Bid Increments will be used.
Buy Now Price / T / If filled-in, Buy Now is activated.
Use only whole dollar amounts, no cents: input can be in either '$xx.00' or 'xx' format ('$56.00' or '56').
Buy Now Price may not be lower than Opening Bid and Reserve prices, else ERROR. / NO / Blank field OK and means '0' (no Buy Now).
Online Open Date / U / Acceptable Input: 'AUCTION' or date
(AUCTION = the online open date of your auction as it’s listed under Set Up > Your Auction)
Note: entering an Online Open Date for before your auction’s online open date will default the item to AUCTION (the system doesn’t allow you to open an item for bidding before AUCTION date/time).
For Date fields, the following formats are acceptable: 'mm/dd/yyyy', 'yyyy-mm-dd', and 'mm/dd/yy'. Month and date values can include leading zeroes or not -- '1/1/12' and '01/01/12' are both acceptable. / NO / Blank field OK and means 'AUCTION'
Online Open Time / V / Acceptable Input: 'AUCTION' or time
AUCTION = the online open time for your auction
Times are entered and stored in Eastern Time. Times are then displayed in the Time Zone you have set for your auction. (E.G., if you have set your auction to Pacific Time, entering an Online Open Time of 11:00AM will be displayed as 8:00 AM PT on your auction.)
For Time fields, the following formats are acceptable: 'HH:MM', 'HH:MM am/pm' (case insensitive), 'HH:MM:SS', and 'HH:MM:SS am/pm' (case insensitive). / NO / Blank field OK and means 'AUCTION'
Online Close Date / W / Acceptable Input: 'AUCTION' or date
(AUCTION = the online close date of your auction as it’s listed under Set Up > Your Auction)
Note: entering an Online Close Date for after your auction’s online close date will default the item to AUCTION (the system disallows you to close an item for bidding after AUCTION date/time).
For Date fields, the following formats are acceptable: 'mm/dd/yyyy', 'yyyy-mm-dd', and 'mm/dd/yy'. Month and date values can include leading zeroes or not -- '1/1/12' and '01/01/12' are both acceptable. / NO / Blank field OK and means 'AUCTION'
Online Close Time / X / Acceptable Input: 'AUCTION' or time
AUCTION = the online close time of your auction
Times are entered and stored in Eastern Time. Times are then displayed in the Time Zone you have set for your auction. For example, if you want the item to close at 10:00 PM Central time, you should enter 11:00 PM as the close time.
For Time fields, the following formats are acceptable: 'HH:MM', 'HH:MM am/pm' (case insensitive), 'HH:MM:SS', and 'HH:MM:SS am/pm' (case insensitive). / NO / Blank field OK and means 'AUCTION'
Status / Y / Acceptable input: PUBLISHED, PUB, DRAFT or blank / NO / Blank field OK and means leave Status for existing item ‘as is’ or DRAFT if new item
Live Event / Z / Acceptable input: YES or NO.
Note: If your auction is set to online-only within Auction Manager, YES will ERROR. To specify that your auction is online-to-live, please contact BiddingForGood Client Services at .
Options for selecting the type of bidding
To set up as item as Online and Mobile bidding: Enter YES in the Online Bidding field and NO in the Live Event field for the item.
To set up as item as Online to Bid Sheets: Enter YES in the Online Bidding field and YES in the Live Event field for the item.
To set up an item as Live Event Only: Enter NO in the Online Bidding field and YES in the Live Event field for the item / NO / Blank field OK: if auction has live event, means ‘YES; if auction doesn’t have live event, means ‘NO’
Item Image / AA / Acceptable input: filename, NONE, EXISTING. Images must be .jpg, .png or .gif.
If uploading multiple images, use double colons (‘::’) to separate image names. / NO / Blank field OK: if it’s a new item, means 'NONE’; if existing item, means 'EXISTING'.
Donor / AB / You can import an unlimited number of donors, starting with column AA. Each new donor must be in their own column. For example, if there’s a second donor, enter it in column AB, and so on. Multiple donors will be assigned in the order the columns appear in the CSV.
Donor name, donation description, and donation value can be imported in this spreadsheet using the following format:
DonorName::Donation Description::Donation Value
DonorName= The Donor’s name and how it will appear in the item’s “Donated By” section.
Donation Description = A brief description of that donor’s contribution to an item. This is helpful is they only donated a component of an item (for example, they donated 1 gift card and the item is a basket containing several gift cards). This information will not appear for bidders.
If the Donation Description is not included, the item name will be used.
Donation Value= The value of that specific donor’s contribution to the item. For example, the full value of the item is $300, but they donated one gift card worth $30, you could include $30 for their donation value. This information will not appear for bidders.
If the Donation Value is not included, the item value will be used.
Other information about the donor (logo, URL, contact information) can be added in the Donors section in Auction Manager or imported using the Donor Import, under Donors > Import Donors. / NO / Blank Fields are OK.
If you only want to import the Donor’s name, you don’t have to include Donation Description of Donation Value.